THE Saint Andrew Parish Church in Amlan, Negros Oriental issued an apology following a viral post that shows a priest berating a couple for allegedly arriving late for their wedding ceremony.
In a statement, Saint Andrew parish priest Msgr. Albert Erasmo Bohol said they apologize to the “directly offended” parties, particularly to the bride and the groom, and to their respective families, for the statements that were made while being “carried away by emotions.”
“We apologize to the people, who have seen our humanity as priests in a time when we were weakest of any possible control,” said Bohol.
“Pope Francis reminds us that ‘priests have to bring compassion and forgiveness in the daily grind of life like Jesus the Lord.’ Yet, we also ask for your kind indulgence for the times we were short in meeting that call,” he added.
Bohol said they offer their apologies also to the family of the departed who was scheduled for a funeral mass after the wedding.
“We also apologize and express gratitude to the bereaved family, who were made to wait for the wedding to be finished,” said Bohol.
He asked the faithful to offer their prayers for members of the clergy for them to become stronger during such cases.
“In the midst of this unfortunate event, please pray for us as we struggle with our frailties,” said Bohol.
The statement was issued days after the viral post of the bride, Janine Seit Suelto-Sagario, who said they were scolded by the priest for being late.
Suelto-Sagario said they arrived at the church at around 8:45 a.m. as they were informed the night before that their wedding ceremony was moved to 9:30 a.m. from the 8 am schedule.
Bohol said no official change was made in the schedule of the wedding ceremony and that the supposed information from one of the female sponsors was relayed in an “unofficial capacity.”
He also said a change is unlikely because a funeral mass had been scheduled for 9:30 a.m., and there were 10 other schedules to be served by the priests on the same day.
“This is unfortunate since there was no instruction at all from anyone in the parish office that there are changes in the schedule since there was a scheduled funeral mass at 9:30 a.m. of that same morning,” said Bohol.
Still, the priest said the wedding ceremony pushed through for the sake of the couple.
“Despite the fact that they were late by an hour, still, our assisting priest celebrated the Mass out of charity to the couple,” he said.
He admitted “adjustments” needed to be made by the priest because of the predicament created by the delays.
“He had to hurriedly make some adjustments, by starting when he saw the bride at the Church entrance, and after sending word to the bereaved family waiting outside the church that there is going to be a delay in the funeral mass and to please wait until the wedding is over,” said Bohol.
